Reinforced post of synthetic plastic material

ABSTRACT

An elongated post body is composed of synthetic plastic material in which metallic reinforcing elements are embedded and extend longitudinally. One or more stress-transmitting elements are connected with the reinforcing elements, being in part embedded in the material of the post body and extending in part beyond the post body where they may be provided with hooks, eyes or the like.

[ 1 June 19, 1973 United States Patent 1 Hellerich et a1.

Footner 4 XXX 555 755 MN 922 455 REINFORCED POST OF SYNTHETIC PLASTICMATERIAL 799,643 9/1905 Gaylord et 211.... 722,417 3/1903 Villet Ford[75] Inventors: Walter Hellerich, Heilbronn; Volker Sadowski, Biesfeld,both of Germany 6/1909 Albrecht Arbed S.A. Arbed-Felten &

Bellamy [73] Assignee:

Guilleaume Vereinigte Drahtwerke, Cologne, Germany May 21, 19711,262,473 4/1961 France 256/19 [22] Filed:

Primary Examiner-Dennis L. Taylor Attorney-Michael S. Striker App]. N0.:145,845

[57] ABSTRACT An elongated post body is composed of synthetic plas- [52]U.S. [51] Int.

[58] Field of Search.................. ,l

256/50 10; 52/155 158, 157 he material in which metallic reinforcingelements are embedded and extend longitudinally. One or more [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,821,365 1/1958 3,205,626 9/1965Attenberger........ 3,357,137 12/1967 Lombardi et a1... 3,378,967 4/1968Baumeister PATENIEB M 1 9 mum a wavy REINFORCED POST OF SYNTHETICPLASTIC MATERIAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present inventionrelates generally to posts, and more particularly to reinforced posts.still more particularly the invention relates to reinforcing posts ofsynthetic plastic material.

There are many applications where posts of various types are utilized.By way of example only a few will be pointed out herein, namely theapplication of posts to support lanterns or lights, posts which supportantennas, posts which are supports for structural applications, postswhich are used in fence constructions, and posts which are used invineyard applications. For these and other applications posts haveheretofore been used which are conventionally made either of wood, metal(usually steel) or concrete. The problem with all of these prior-artposts is that they have certain disadvantages. For instance, posts ofwood can be given a lifetime of at most ten years only by repeatedlytreating them' with various preservatives, this being timeconsuming and,of course, also expensive. Concrete posts, on the other hand, aredifficult to handle because they are heavy and, in addition, becausethey are brittle and tend to break quite readily if not handled verycarefully. Metal posts, of course, are expensive and must also be giventreatments to preserve them against damage by the elements, for instancerusting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, an general object of thepresent invention to overcome the aforementioned difficulties.

More particularly it is an object of the present invention to provide animproved post which is not possessed of these disadvantages.

Still more specifically it is an object of the present invention toprovide a post of synthetic plastic material which has a strength andlife expectancy which are much more in keeping with the manufacturingexpenses involved than what is known from the prior art.

In pursuance of the above objects, and of others which will becomeapparent hereafter, one feature of the invention resides, brieflystated, in apost which comprises an elongated post" body of syntheticplastic material in which a plurality of metallic reinforcing elementsare embedded and extend longitudinally. At least one stress-transmittingelement connects the material of the post body and the reinforcingelements and is at least in part exposed at the exterior of the postbody in a region where the same is to be subjected to external stresseswhen in use.

The term "post as employed herein of course refers not only tocomparatively short posts such as fence posts or the like, but also tosuch posts which may sometimes be designated as masts" or poles andwhich may support lamps or the like. If a post according to the presentinvention is to be driven into the ground, then it is preferable thatits trailing end be provided with a stress-transmitting element in formof a plate or cap connected with the metallic reinforcing elements, andits leading end with a stress-transmitting element in form of a cap orsimilar element which is pointed and also connected with the reinforcingelementsfThis latter element, of course, facilitates or even makespossible for the first time, the driving of the post into the ground.

If the post is to be used as a fence post or in vineyard applications,then it is advantageous if one or more of the stress-transmittingelements are provided exteriorly of the post body with hooks, eyes orthe like to which wires or mesh or the like can be connected. Dependingupon the material used for the reinforcing elements and thestress-transmitting element or elements, they can be connected bywelding, soldering, by interlocking couplings, by clamps or the like. Itis preferable, and most advantageous in terms of the results achieved,but not necessary that the material of the reinforcing elements and ofthe stress-transmitting element or elements be steel. I

The relationship of bending or breaking resistance of the post to theirweight depends largely upon the adhesion of the reinforcing elements andstress-transmitting elements in the synthetic plastic material of thepost body. It is therefore advantageous to facilitate this adhesion inthat the surfaces of some or all of these elements are roughened, thatis provided with kerfs, grooves, serrations or the like. In addition,and this is also a protection against corrosion, it is advantageous tocoat some or all of the elements with synthetic plastic material whichwill adhere well to the synthetic plastic material of the post body, forinstance a phenolic resin.

By properly orienting and configurating the reinforcing elements andstress-transmitting element or elements with reference to one another, aparticularly good strength to weight ratio is obtained, if the syntheticplastic material of the post body consists of a cellular syntheticplastic, for instance cellular polyurethan or cellular polyisopren, inwhich case it is generally preferable that the plastic will have closedpores or cells at least at the outer surface of the post body. Thisprevents entry of moisture to the embedded metallic reinforcing and/orstress-transmitting elements. Of

course, various types of cellular synthetic plastic are' suitable andknown, and generally speaking they will be of the hard foam plastictype.

r The manufacturing expenses may be lowered, and the strength of thesynthetic plastic material of the post body may be further improved, byadmixing with this synthetic plastic material such filler materials asswelling clay, swelling silicones, swelling glass or the like which arewell-known to those skilled in the art.

The novel features which areconsidered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both to its construction and its method ofoperation,

together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be bestunderstood from the following description of specific embodiments whenread in com 'nection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING DESCRIPTION OF TI-IE PREFERREDEMBODIMENTS,

Discussing'the drawing now in detail it will be seen that we haveillustrated a post according to one embodiment of the present invention,which has a post body 3 of synthetic plastic material. This material maybe in form of any suitable well-known non-cellular plastic, or it may bein form of one of the suitable and also well known cellular plastics,that is a hard cellular plastic. The post body 3 is reinforced by aplurality of longitudinally extending reinforcing elements 1 of whichfour are shown in the illustrated embodiment and which extendlongitudinally of the post body 3 in at least substantial parallelismwith one another. The post body 3 is provided with a formed cap 6 whichreinforces it at its leading end and which is configurated with a pointso that the post body can be readily driven into the ground. Thetrailing end of the post body is provided with another formed element 5,which could be a plate but is here configurated as a cap. Both theelements 5 and 6 are connected in, stress-transmitting relation with thefour reinforcing elements 4 so that when stresses are applied to them,they are transmitted to the reinforcing elements primarily, rather thanprimarily being transmitted to the material of the body 3. The reasonfor the provision of the element 5 is, of course, to make it possible toexertblows on the trailing end of the post body 3 so as to drive thelatter into the ground.

A further stress-transmitting element 2, here configurated as a ring orannulus-shaped member, is located in the region of the upper or trailingend of the post body 3, where it connects the reinforcing elements 1with one another and also with the material of the post body 3 itself,by being partially embedded therein.

Portions of the element 2 extend outwardly beyond the exterior surfaceof the post body 3 configurated as hooks 4 into which wires, fencing orthe like may be hooked or to which such components may otherwise beconnected. Reference numeral 7 diagrammatically identifies a coating ofphenolic resin which is provided in the illustratedembodiment on allmetallic components, that is on the elements 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 to protectthem against corrosion and, insofar as necessary, to facilitate theiradhesion to the material of the post body 3 itself. Reference numeral laindicates diagrammatically in broken lines that one or more additionalcentrally located reinforcing elements may also be provided.

A post according to the present invention has certain significantadvantages over what is known from the prior art. Thus, such a post willfor instance have a lifetime of approximately twenty years, which is atleast double the lifetime of conventional wooden posts. It further has asubstantially lower weight than posts known heretofore, whether they beof wood, of metal or of concrete. It also has a greater bendingresistance than conventional posts of identical dimensions and variousexternal components, such as wires, fencing, insulators or the like canbe readily secured to a post according to the present invention merelybe providing the latter with suitably configurated portions which willbecome an integral part of the post rather than having to be separatelysecured thereto as was heretofore the case. Splitting, breaking or thelike as a result of the influence of water, moisture and/or frost willno longer be a problem with a post according to the present inventionand the smooth continuous non-porous outer surface of the material ofthe post body makes it difficult for pests, bacteria, fungi or the liketo settle on the post body and act upon the same.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofapplications differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in areinforced post of synthetic plastic material, it is not intended to belimited to the details shown, since various modifications and structuralchanges may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of thepresent invention.

Without further analysis the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can by applying current knowledgereadily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent isset forth in the appended l. A post having an upper and a lower end andcomprising an elongated body of synthetic plastic foam material having anon-porous outer surface; a plurality of metallic reinforcing elementsembedded in the body of synthetic plastic foam material and extendinglongitudinally therein; at least one'stress-transmitting elementembedded in the body of synthetic plastic foam material that isconnected to each of the embedded metallic reinforcing elements and toat least one other element that extends outside the outer surface of thebody of synthetic plastic foam material and is adapted to sustainadditional stress to which the post is to be subjected, in normal use;and external reinforcing elements at each of said upper and lower endsof the post, each connected to each of the embedded metallic reinforcingelements and said external reinforcing element at said upper endextending downwardly and enveloping the upper portion of said post.

2. A post as defined in claim 1, wherein said reinforcing component atsaid leading end is a pointed element.

3. A post as defined in claim 1, wherein at least some of said elementshave roughened exposed surfaces for facilitating adhesion with the foammaterial of said post body.

4. A post as defined in claim 1; and further comprising filler materialcontained in the synthetic plastic foam material of said post body.

5. A post as defined in claim 1 in which a metallic element thereof iscoated with a material that bonds readily to the synthetic plastic foammaterial of which the body of the post is formed.

1. A post having an upper and a lower end and comprising an elongatedbody of synthetic plastic foam material having a nonporous outersurface; a plurality of metallic reinforcing elements embedded in thebody of synthetic plastic foam material and extending longitudinallytherein; at least one stresstransmitting element embedded in the body ofsynthetic plastic foam material that is connected to each of theembedded metallic reinforcing elements and to at least one other elementthat extends outside the outer surface of the body of synthetic plasticfoam material and is adapted to sustain additional stress to which thepost is to be subjected, in normal use; and external reinforcingelements at each of said upper and lower ends of the post, eachconnected to each of the embedded metallic reinforcing elements and saidexternal reinforcing element at said upper end extending downwardly andenveloping the upper portion of said post.
 2. A post as defined in claim1, wherein said reinforcing component at said leading end is a pointedelement.
 3. A post as defined in claim 1, wherein at least some of saidelements have roughened exposed surfaces for facilitating adhesion withthe foam material of said post body.
 4. A post as defined in claim 1;and further comprising filler material contained in the syntheticplastic foam material of said post body.
 5. A post as defined in claim 1in which a metallic element thereof is coated with a material that bondsreadily to the synthetic plastic foam material of which the body of thepost is formed.